iPhone, Nexus 1 or HTC Desire? Discuss

[nameandnature]

Dear Lazyweb,

I'm thinking of getting one those shiny smartphone things. Looking at the iPhone, Google Nexus 1 and HTC Desire.

I like the idea of the dual microphone noise cancellation and the voice activation on the N1. The Desire has some sort of funky social networking stuff and a prettier UI that the N1, although there was some muttering on various web forums about HTC being slow at releasing updates (and you don't get the noise cancellation or voice activation).

scribb1e has an iPhone and likes it. I've got a Mac, so everything will probably Just Work. That said, I'm loath to pay them money as they're so tight-fisted about application development, but I'm probably kidding myself when I imagine that I might write something for an Android phone anyway.

Discuss...

Comments

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Apple may be a bunch of control freaks, but the iPhone ecosystem (app store, horizontal and vertical integration, cloud stuff) is very nice indeed, and 4.0 looks very tasty.

App Store wins it

[(Anonymous)]

Auntysarah has it.
The App Store is the king for variety and (perhaps) quality.
If you just want Web and a couple of things - take your pick.

[andrewducker]

I wouldn't get an iPhone if you paid me, and I'm going for an HTC Desire when my contract runs out (soon).

Can you get a Nexus One under contract in the UK?

[nameandnature]

Not yet. There are electronics retailers stocking them in this country but not carriers yet. I'd get one with a SIM only 30 day contract if I did get one right now (currently on PAYG, but I'd probably change that).

[andrewducker]

Aaah, I've been semi-tempted by doing PAYG, but I'm actually pretty happy having a contract and insurance through Orange.

[lisekit.livejournal.com]

I am very happy with my iPhone (3GS) and it does, in the main, "just work" - at least as much as any other phone I've ever had. I've rapidly become very used to having an internet in my pocket and Safari gets a lot of use when I'm out and about. The iPhone interface is very intuitive and usable, and it's surprising just how much you can do with a phone these days.

Darien has decided to abandon his 3G on principle after last week's announcements, though, and he's just waiting for the Desire to come onto O2 contract.

O2 have themselves been good to both of us, btw.

[nameandnature]

Darien has decided to abandon his 3G on principle after last week's announcements

More stuff about restrictive app store policies, or the iPhone OS 4.0 multitasking stuff?

I probably will get some sort of contract, but I think T-Mobile looked best for me: they did the minimum number of minutes per month and unlimited internet. scribb1e's got some sort of "unlimited internet for 1 year" thing with O2 PAYG, though, which might be worth a look.

[scribb1e.livejournal.com]

It's great - it's cost me zero since I bought it because they transferred my old balance and gave me money for my old handset without even taking it away. Haven't nearly used up the money yet. Definitely the cheap way forward I think.

And the apps have actually saved me money so far :-)

[brokenhut.livejournal.com]

That said, I'm loath to pay them money as they're so tight-fisted about application development, but I'm probably kidding myself when I imagine that I might write something for an Android phone anyway.

But the point about doing something for the principle is that it shouldn't *have* to affect you unduly before it seems wrong. I see the capricious nature of the iPhone Store rules and the ever-shrinking set of things you're allowed to develop (you can have any colo^H^H^H^Hlanguage as long as it's Obj-C!) as reasons in themselves.

[gareth-rees.livejournal.com]

A software consultant writes: what are your requirements?

[(Anonymous)]

Android, the choice for the fragmented generation. I heard a quote which sums it up nicely..."an operating system for software engineers, by software engineers".

I've tried all manner of different phones (smart and otherwise) and nothing even comes close to the user experience of the iPhone OS and that extends to the development tools which are what has really helped propel the platform.

Oh, and if you're going to develop something, might I suggest rekindling old school memories with a bulletin board system or something to automate password recovery when somebody changes the guest login to the school network!

[nameandnature]

I heard a quote which sums it up nicely..."an operating system for software engineers, by software engineers".

Well, I am a software engineer, after all, so I'd quite like getting something I could tinker with.

Oh, and if you're going to develop something, might I suggest rekindling old school memories with a bulletin board system or something to automate password recovery when somebody changes the guest login to the school network!

Hehe! Who's that, then?

[(Anonymous)]

Well, I am a software engineer, after all, so I'd quite like getting something I could tinker with.

I too am a software engineer, but Android does nothing for me. Out of all the non iPhone operating systems, MeeGo (which is still to see a public release) interests me the most, simply because:

1) It's not symbian. (I say that as my spittoon is gently resonating in the corner)
2) The native API is Qt, which is quite possibly one of the best pieces of software I've ever come across.

I've booted android on one of our boards at work, but that was more a curiosity than anything else. I didn't even go near the dev tools as I'm pretty sure they're eclipse based, and well, do I really need so say more?

As for who I am? It's Adrian, I was searching the internet for a few old names from school and I found your blog.

[paulmenage.livejournal.com]

Definitely a Nexus One :-)

OK, so I'm a bit biased by my employee loyalties and the fact that Google gave me the phone and pays for my SIM, but it's a pretty neat phone.

I don't actually find myself using the voice activation all that much - mostly when searching for locations or phone numbers while driving, and not wanting to start typing...

The (free) turn-by-turn GPS satnav application (with integrated traffic reporting, at least in the US) is really useful, and the seamless multi-tasking seems to surprise iPhone users.